Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts

Are QR Codes Replacing Bar Codes?

The Japanese corporation Denso-Wave created QR code in 1994. More than a decade later, the code is gaining popularity in advertising and art around the world.

Above: An example of QR code art, made as a sand sculpture on a beach.


Traditional (1-dimensional) Bar Codes

The traditional linear bar code is used to store information, and can commonly be seen on the packages of products found in supermarkets. The image of a bar code is in every household, on most store-bought items.
Traditional bar codes are not commonly understood by the general public. For many, 1-dimensional bar codes appear to be just an ugly image on packaging, used for scanning the item at the till.


What is QR Code?

Traditional linear bar codes are 1-dimensional, whereas QR codes are 2-dimensional matrix codes. “QR” is an abbreviation of “Quick Response”, because the code can be decoded at high speed. QR codes can contain between a dozen and a few hundred times more information than linear bar codes.
QR code is also referred to as Kaywa code.



QR Code Becomes Publicly Accessible

QR codes quickly gained popularity in Japan, and have now spread to Europe and the US. By photographing the Kaywa code image with a mobile phone and decoding it, a person can follow the information within the code to a company website or simply receive a short message. It is a way to instantly access information without needing to find a computer.
Many mobile phones are now being equipped with QR decoding software. The software can also be downloaded online.



Kaywa Codes in Marketing

Above: The movie, “28 Weeks Later” used QR code to publicize the movie. Once photographed and decoded, the QR code revealed a link to the 28 weeks later website.


Above: Combined with an AVIN code (A unique code for each wine, similar to an ISBN book code), wine makers are supplying QR codes with their wine. Decoding the Kaywa code image reveals a website address which a person can follow to read more about the wine, the wine-making process or to find out about special offers.


Above: QR code has been used here by a realtor, to reveal a website link with more information on the sale of the house.

QR Code in Art


Above: The QR code used in these earrings reveals a web link to a Wikipedia article on gratitude. 


Above: This urban art sticker of a QR code reveals a phrase in Japanese, which roughly translates to “Doing nothing, just hanging around. That’s the hardest work of all.” We may begin to see more and more coded messages, in stencil or on stickers, appearing around the world as graffiti artists express their opinions on life through this code.


Will Traditional Bar Codes be Replaced by QR Code?

Traditional bar codes are suited to their particular task, and it is doubtful that QR code will replace traditional bar codes any time soon. The powerful squares of code are bound to appear more frequently in magazines and on billboards, as an interactive advertising medium. Perhaps in the future, Kaywa codes will also be used to instantly reveal detailed information on products in supermarkets.

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The Cheesiest Thing You'll See Today

Artists and sculptors have found a new use for cheese – cheese sculpting. Cheese is an easy material to sculpt in, as it is firm and holds its shape well. 

The art of cheese sculpting is commonly used as a promotional display, for events, sports teams and famous landmarks. Cheez-it, an American brand of crackers, is one company that has produced a number of cheese carving displays to promote their products. The Cheez-it carvings mostly represent famous landmarks, US presidents and other scenes and characters from American history.

The Cheez-It cracker brand carved this orange cheese sculpture of the four American presidents as they are in the giant Mount Rushmore sculpture. They've included a baked crispy cheese cracker in the shape of the American flag to add to the patriotic nature of this promotional art. [source]
This life-sized cheese carving of former US president Abraham Lincoln was sculpted out of three huge blocks of cheese. Cheddar cheese is the cheeese of choice for carving because it if firm and can hold its shape well. [source]

The video above shows another of Cheez-It's promotional cheese-carved art works; a replica of John Trumbull's iconic painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, created from a one-ton block of cheese. [youtube]

Cheese can become edible art

To prevent the dairy-based carving from drying out, cheese carvers spray cooking oil on the finished artwork to preserve the cheese. Using cooking oil has the added benefit of giving the sculpture a glossy shine. By using pasteurized cheese, sculptors can be assured that their artworks won’t melt. However, cheese sculptures need to be kept fairly cool, because if they’re left for too long in the blazing hot sun, they will eventually begin to fall apart.
This skillful cheese carving boasts an acoustic guitar sitting among the petals of a delicate cheese flower. The cheese artist had to scoop out the cheese between the flower petals to create the finished art work. The shine is from a glaze of cooking oil. [source]
In England, one block of cheese became a tasty nativity scene for Christmas, depicting the birth of Jesus in edible art. The artist has added lights into the cheesy scene, a daring move considering the heat of the lights will soften and eventually crumble the cheese. [source]
This beautiful bird carving of a pelican perched on a pole is made entirely from tasty cheese. This cheese sculpture was made for a wine company's promotional display. Such promotions are a common use of food art, and it is where many food artists make their living. [source]

Food art that smells and sells

The color and texture of cheese sculptures, along with the tantalizingly cheesy smell, make cheese art pieces a popular attraction when displayed in a store front or on a buffet table. The size of cheese sculptures are limited only by the size of the blocks of cheese that are available. Even so, some cheese sculptures stand in excess of 10ft, an impressive height for a food carving.

In this cheese sculpture, 3D animation legend Shrek holds New York state close to his heart. You can tell from how the sculptor is holding it that this piece of food art is very heavy. [source]
Winnie the Pooh holds a piece of cheese instead of a honey pot in this cute and delicious cheese carving. Both Winnie the Pooh and the Shrek carving about were created by Sarah Kaufman to promote New York cheeses. [source]
In another cheese sculpture by Sarah Kaufman, Santa Claus wishes cheese festival goers a merry Christmas. [source]

Cheese as a claymation clay

Edible cheese sculptures can be a unique gift, or they can be used as a promotional item. They can also have personalized messages carved into the sculpture as a center piece for a celebratory dinner such as on Christmas or a birthday. Because the sculpture is edible, the cheese can be cut up and served with crackers, dips and preserves, but who knows if anyone ever ate one of the dozens of cheese sculptures of Wallace that were made while creating this stop motion animation:


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